I'm planning to look at offices to move my home-office stuff into. For those of you who have done this, are there any important questions or things I should look out for that I may not have thought of?
Office lease
- Thread starter o hai guyz
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That's a very broad question, so I'm assuming you've already determined what type of lease you're getting, the length of the agreement, etc.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Are you permitted access after "normal business hours"?
- How many people can work inside your office?
- Can you have clients come by the office?
You'd be surprised that the usage of the facility can sometimes be dictated by the landlord and is reason enough to kick you out of your space if they determine they want to rent to someone who'll pay more than you do.
If you are looking for a "real" office make sure you find out about personal guarantees and get the lease term as short as possible with first right of refusal upon renewal. We are moving offices next week and just went through this. Most places were looking for minimum of 7 year leases, we got lucky with a 5 year! If there needs to be any sort of build out, make sure its clearly spelled out who is responsible for paying for what.
Though if you are looking for a smaller, shared work space/ executive office type place, you shouldn't run into this. We have a set up like that for our Orlando office and we sign 3 month terms with internet included. Its a very simple agreement as well.I believe we can have up to 4 people in that office, get access to the conference room if we schedule it in advance and the break room/ kitchen whenever. There is after hours access and someone onsite that fixes issues with the internet when they come up.
Is there anything specific you are wondering?
Though if you are looking for a smaller, shared work space/ executive office type place, you shouldn't run into this. We have a set up like that for our Orlando office and we sign 3 month terms with internet included. Its a very simple agreement as well.I believe we can have up to 4 people in that office, get access to the conference room if we schedule it in advance and the break room/ kitchen whenever. There is after hours access and someone onsite that fixes issues with the internet when they come up.
Is there anything specific you are wondering?
Asking about after-business hours is interesting, I wouldn't have thought to ask about that. I'm just looking for a relatively small 2-3 office suite. Need good internet of course. Letting clients come by isn't an issue as I don't do that anyway.
Are you allowed to lease a larger suite and then sublease the individual offices to other people, or is that not something that's done?
Any other general things I should be aware of? This is the first time I've looked at actual offices so I just want to make sure I have enough basic knowledge going into it and don't get stuck in a shitty lease.
Are you allowed to lease a larger suite and then sublease the individual offices to other people, or is that not something that's done?
Any other general things I should be aware of? This is the first time I've looked at actual offices so I just want to make sure I have enough basic knowledge going into it and don't get stuck in a shitty lease.
Make sure decent internet is available... we basically got fucked here with low end DSL... the builder didn't want to drop 10k to drop lines for cable or something.
OMGFast or w/e is now available here so we'll be checking out that option...
OMGFast or w/e is now available here so we'll be checking out that option...
Sublease rights should be defined in the lease. Are you dealing with a professional landlord, or just some guy who has some extra space available? If you already are talking w/ someone about 1 specific space, ask for a draft lease.. read it carefully.
As others have said, deals can be had in either a sub-lease or direct lease from landlord.
If doing a sub-lease, make sure you have read and understand all the terms of the master lease as well, as those will apply to you.
If you're getting a master lease from a landlord, it should define whether you have the option to sublease or not.
Make sure you have 24/7 access to your office defined in the lease
Make sure anything the agent or landlord tells you they're including is written in the lease
HVAC - do you get to control the thermostats for your space, or is that controlled by the building? Also many multitenant buildings have set "building hours" such as 8am-6pm M-F, and outside of those hours the heating and cooling is set in "setback" mode. If you plan to work nights/weekends then you'll need to understand if you can get the heating/cooling like you want it and if you have to pay extra for that
Upfit - if you're looking at a sublease or short term option, then you're likely taking space "as is". If you're looking to take a new lease for space directly from landlord then you can get $$ for upfit if you are signing a 3+ year lease.
Financial terms.. are you aware of the differences between a Full Service lease, and Triple Net?
Renewal options - what options do you have to renew at the end of the term?
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I looked at a couple locations today. First one was in a bad location but really cheap - $400 for a single office or $600 for a 3-room. The other downside was you have to call up Comcast and get your own internet set up.
The second one was in a much better location but double the price - $800 for a single office. It included T1 internet and was already furnished. The downside is the offices are all pretty close together and there's less privacy. I record a lot of info/tutorial videos for one of my sites and don't want people in the offices around me complaining "this guy is always talking loud etc" and get me kicked out.
Both have 24/7 access. Planning to look at a couple more closer to where I live but I'm expecting them to cost even more. Leaning towards the $800 one but not sure yet.
The second one was in a much better location but double the price - $800 for a single office. It included T1 internet and was already furnished. The downside is the offices are all pretty close together and there's less privacy. I record a lot of info/tutorial videos for one of my sites and don't want people in the offices around me complaining "this guy is always talking loud etc" and get me kicked out.
Both have 24/7 access. Planning to look at a couple more closer to where I live but I'm expecting them to cost even more. Leaning towards the $800 one but not sure yet.
T1 internet is probably slower than tethering to your phone. 1.54 mbps = 192 KB/s
Good luck with the hunt
Good luck with the hunt
T1 was the shit in 1997
Most office buildings are should have cable internet into each individual space or if it is shared among the whole building they will most likely have an OC-1 or OC-3 connection.
Most office buildings are should have cable internet into each individual space or if it is shared among the whole building they will most likely have an OC-1 or OC-3 connection.
Yeah, I remember madly wishing I could get a T1 line. Now my domestic cable is faster than a T3.
Back in my day as an IT director in the early 2000's I can remember signing the bill each month for our T1's and they were roughly $1500/mnth each.
I had a friend rent out all of the prime space that was available in a building in downtown OKC. They had rules against subletting and he got around them by letting people use the space for "free". He then turned around and sold them it services + internet at jacked up prices. It was pretty ingenious.
As someone with no experience in real estate, I'm surprised how much location impacts the cost. Out of the 5 places I looked at, my top 2 choices were:
1) $700/month for a huge 3 room suite + reception area, corner unit with windows. Below average neighborhood, so ghetto it wasn't even on Google Maps and I had to stop and ask for directions. Leasing agent was 30 minutes late to the meeting. It was insanely cheap and the interior was really nice, but I decided against it because the entire thing just screamed unprofessional.
2) $2500/month for a small 1 room + reception area, no window. Above average neighborhood, about 2 minutes from my house. Everything was much more professional, internet included, furnished option, etc. but the downside is the entire office would fit inside my bedroom.
Leaning towards option 2 if I can't find anything else reasonable but I wasn't really looking to drop 30-40k a year on this, so I'm undecided.
1) $700/month for a huge 3 room suite + reception area, corner unit with windows. Below average neighborhood, so ghetto it wasn't even on Google Maps and I had to stop and ask for directions. Leasing agent was 30 minutes late to the meeting. It was insanely cheap and the interior was really nice, but I decided against it because the entire thing just screamed unprofessional.
2) $2500/month for a small 1 room + reception area, no window. Above average neighborhood, about 2 minutes from my house. Everything was much more professional, internet included, furnished option, etc. but the downside is the entire office would fit inside my bedroom.
Leaning towards option 2 if I can't find anything else reasonable but I wasn't really looking to drop 30-40k a year on this, so I'm undecided.